Saturday, September 28, 2013

in Lincolnshire, to talk to a wonderful group of families in the local Catholic parish, St Mary's. Excellent parish priest, a large and energetic gathering of children on Friday evening, and a most delightful family event on Saturday morning - again teeming with children - which finished with a beautiful Mass and a hearty buffet lunch. Auntie was speaking about Catholic traditions and customs, feasts and seasons, etc...

The family event was held in the parish school, and for Mass an altar was erected and there were small well-trained altar boys, and a fine reader who led us in chanting the Psalm, and we sang the Pater Noster in Latin (I wish more parishes would do this - it's v. important for us all to know this well, not just for Mass but also for general prayers at for the great international gatherings that increasingly play a major role in Catholic life). A really cheery gathering, with such a warm and friendly feel to it - not everyone was Catholic, but all united in friendship and goodwill.

A train ride through England is generally agreeable, and September is such a glorious month...but how horrible, ugly, fearsomely nasty are the great outsize wind machines that now dominate great stretches of our land as you head northwards. It's not fair, no one asked us if we wanted our beautiful country to be made so hideously ugly in this way.

...it's all very well for the Prime Minister to try to forestall challenges at the Conservative Party Conference by wittering on about the value of marriage and promising a financial reward to those who marry, but since he's just foisted on us all a ghastly new law which pretends that two men can marry, there isn't much value in it, really.

While in the USA, back in the summer, Auntie had the opportunity to discuss that ghastly new law on Register Radio...

...with the Ordinariate at the Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. It has now become familiar, the voices going back and forth saying the psalms turn and turn about:" My lips shall speak of thy praise/ when thou hast taught me thy statutes..." "I have longed for thy saving health O Lord/and in thy law is my delight..."

As we prayed and sang, and the trains rumbled by to London Bridge, the evening sky slowly darkened beyond the high windows, and despite the warm evening, there was a feeling of Autumn, and I realised that the Ordinariate has become part of life's cycle in this corner of the world and the new-and-interesting has given way to the pleasant-and-familiar.

...it feels almost comic somehow. For those of us who remember the way things were before the events of 1989/90, reading this sort of report from Russia is just so extraordinary.

The conversion of Russia, which has been happening before our eyes since 1984, means that the Russian ruler now regards the country as a Christian one and speaks accordingly.

Putin is not a pleasant ruler. Russia is a grim place in which to live (which is partly why Christianity is so attractive with its message of hope and love).

But the central reality is this: the conversion of Russia, long the focus of so much prayer, is making the world scene unimaginably different from that of the 20th century. All a bit awkward for people who have been complaining for years that "nothing has been done about consecrating Russia" and creating all sorts of conspiracy theories to claim that the Fatima promises aren't working, the secrets haven't been revealed, etc etc etc...

Russia was consecrated to Mary, by Bl John Paul in 1984, and with the conversion happening and Christianity openly honoured by so many Russians, it will probably be normal to mention Russia aloud by name in Fatima consecrations and celebrations in Rome and Russia and elsewhere over the next years...

But will the "Fatimist" campaigners ever admit that they were wrong, and apologise? They have long complained that Pope John Paul was part of a big conspiracy, involved in a network of lying and deceit, and that the "real secret" has never been told, etc etc.
Now his actions have proved themselves, and he is to be canonised. A gracious apology from the Fatimist campaigners would be in order. Some are among the readers of this blog...

Sunday, September 22, 2013

"Things have a price and are saleable, but persons have a dignity, they are worth more than things and they have no price. Because of this, attention to human life in its totality has become in recent times a real and proper priority of the Magisterium of the Church, particularly for life which is largely defenseless, namely, that of the disabled, the sick, the unborn, children, the elderly."

and

"Every unborn child, condemned unjustly to being aborted, has the face of the Lord, who before being born, and then when he was just born, experienced the rejection of the world. And every elderly person, even if he/she is sick or at the end of his/her days, bears in him/herself the face of Christ. They cannot be discarded!"

Saturday, September 21, 2013

...and the famous Third Secret revealed in 2000 by Bl John Paul, continues to hold an enormous fascination...and as things develop in Russia, there will be more...you might find this feature of interest...

There has long been an assumption that "the conversion of Russia" would be (a) quick, with an immediate impact and (b) enjoyable for us here in the West. But the Fatima promises did not suggest either of these things. We should ponder the Fatima message as Catholics, not as readers of horoscopes or listeners to fortune-tellers.

We have been praying, and rightly, for Russia's conversion: it is happening and, like all conversions, will take some while. But meanwhile, what about the conversion of the West? And what will it be like with Russia a place of growing Christianity - and with the Holy Father in renewed dialogue with the Orthodox and so on - while the Christians in the West are facing immense pressures from the governments, bureaucracy, media and commercial interests of their countries? To grasp this, we need to shift our world-view. The Cold War era of the 1950s-80s is over, and we are in a new era...

The minds of many Catholics have been confused by campaigners who, for whatever reason, have muddled the whole thing up with their own views on the Church, the liturgy, Vatican II, and more. They want conspiracies and plots and ooh-the-Vatican-is-in-the-grip-of-evil-and-Ratzinger-was-a-liar. But the reality is the unfolding of a loving plan: all the secrets have been revealed, and what remains is the age-old gentle call to prayer and penance. And the call to the New Evangelisation...are you ready?

...with a not-too-well relative, sitting sewing and chatting. Prayers for this relative would be much appreciated: she is facing a grave illness with courage.

Home lateish. As anticipated, phone messages from the BBC etc re the H. Father's latest interview: it is good that we now have Catholic Voices to help with this sort of thing. The Beeb and similar took a sentence from the Pope's interview out of context with glee and delight...oh, but it's useless whingeing about this sort of thing, we just have to ride out the storm...

My EWTN colleague has a wise and thoughtful comment here...and there is also an excellent comment here...

...a practical "How to" training weekend in public speaking, in the service of the New Evangelisation, to be held at Maryvale (Birmingham, England) in the early Spring. Date would be Feb 8th/9th.

Interested? Please send a Comment to this Blog INCLUDING, WITHIN THE BODY OF YOUR COMMENT AN EMAIL ADDRESS AT WHICH I CAN CONTACT YOU. The Comment will of course not be published.

The main session would be on the Saturday, with the option to stay over for the Sunday. In addition to training, practical work, etc, we would have an inspirational guest speaker, Mass, and a social time...

A modest fee will be charged: one fee for day-attenders which would also cover lunch, coffee etc, and another fee to cover those who stay for the whole weekend.

Friday, September 20, 2013

...I am off to Brigg, to talk to the parish youth group and Family Group...

And over the next few weeks, I will be giving out Bible prizes at schools in Hertfordshire, Essex, and Lancaster, where pupils have won prizes and awards in the Schools Bible Project... (that link tells you about the Project, but doesn't yet have the 2013 winners names on it, as I want to ensure that they all learn about their prizes from their schools first, rather than suddenly discovering their names on the internet....)

the wonderful women's group of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham had a special Mass and celebration this evening to mark its FIRST ANNIVERSARY. We went to the Church of the Assumption in London's Warwick Street where the Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton, celebrated Mass for us, and his wife joined us at our meeting and welcomed us into the Rectory...we had chocolate cake and coffee, and sang "Happy Birthday to Us!" and had a most happy and useful meeting with lots of lovely plans for the months ahead and throughout 2014...

Among the plans...a big project for schoolchildren, carol singing at a major London railway station, a pilgrimage to Littlemore, a film evening...

FOR YOUR DIARY: IMPORTANT...Blessed Sacrament Procession on Saturday October 12th, starts 1.30pm at Westminster Cathedral, goes through London and finishes with Benediction at St George's Cathedral Southwark. BE THERE!! All welcome. Come on your own, or with a group. Bring family and friends...

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

...of this visit to Poland have been many...at Wawel, at Wadowice, at the Shrine of the Black Madonna at Jasna Gora....

But probably the most memorable was joining the crowds pouring in to the great Ark Church at Nowa Huta. We had arranged to go there for Sunday Mass because, as we discovered last Spring, it is a wonderful experience. Nowa Huta was built as the great socialist experiment, on land outside Krakow, with a steelworks dedicated to Lenin and slabs of housing for people taken from villages in other parts of Poland. It was meant to be a great Communist paradise. Working conditions were grim, freedom of speech was banned, and the promises of a dizzily wonderful life remained hollow. It became - and remains - a great centre of opposition to Communism. There were riots here in the 1980s as Communism collapsed. Today the streets and squares are named after anti-Communist heroes - the most notable being Reagan Place - and the statue of Lenin has gone, torn down as thousands watched and rejoiced. A major feature of Nowa Huta, and the thing that ultimately made the place famous, is the Ark Church, built by volunteer labour after years of campaigning for official permission, and opened by Archbishop Karol Woytila, the hero-bishop of Krakow who led his flock with courage and wisdom during the years of Soviet oppressive rule. It stand as a great modern symbol of hope and peace and strength.

There are Masses throughout Sunday and the crowds surge in. I noticed that people are quite formally dressed: lots of the men in jackets-and-ties. We were fortunate to find seats for Mass - people pack in at the back and in the various galleries. Big modern sanctuary, numbers of altar-boys. The singing is heart-warming.

It was so good to be at a big traditional Sunday Mass in this great church. Hearing the Mass in Polish somehow made one sense the universality of the Church - one felt completely at home, while aware of being miles from home. The liturgy was reverent but nothing special: a young boy did the readings, people knelt for Communion, there was the traditional Polish muddle about coming-and-going for the latter. People were silent and prayerful in church after Mass, no immediate outbreak of chatter. As we all surged out, the bells were ringing for the next Mass and people were flowing towards the church from across Nowa Huta...

The Church in Poland faces plenty of challenges. But there is a bond between Church and people that is deep and strong and life-giving.

Monday, September 16, 2013

I'd love to go on a proper pilgrimage to Kalwaria some day...I loved the hillside, the big breeziness of it, the woods, the glorious sweep on the hills around, and the fact that you are hiking and praying and "walking with a purpose". Clare and I, sitting here in our Krakow lodgings with coffee, preparing for another day of filming, have been mulling over the places we've visited, and the things we've learned....Kalwaria has been a very big part of it all, and possibly the most memorable...how about a pilgrimage group from Britain? John Paul Walkers - of Walsingham fame - interested? alking around the Kalwaria shrine takes about six hours. But it could be part of a longer pilgrimage, eg walking from Wadowice (no distance) or even from Krakow, taking two or three days...

Sunday, September 15, 2013

...and talking to Cardinal Dziwicz about Bl John Paul. It was very splendid walking into the Archbishop's Palace, but also very friendly, and the Cardinal gave us a warm welcome and told us he was simply "Father Stanislaus". Clare and I have been having a simply wonderful time in Krakow. Not only did that interview go superbly well, but so much else has been glorious too...praying in Wawel cathedral, discovering the story of Jan Tyranowski in Debniki, visiting the Divine Mercy shrine, and - a great highlight - going to Kalwaria, where the young Woytila walked the Way of the Cross with his father long years ago, and learned about the Cross and all that it means...

We are working on a programme for EWTN about Bl John Paul...and it is hard work but all joy...and leaving very little time for blogging.

Today, the new Shrine that is being carved out of the hillside beyond Krakow, on great stretches of land adjoining the already massive shrine to the Divine Mercy. It is an extraordinary experience to spend part of the day in a great city of history, and then another part watching lumps of hillside being turned over to create something that will be part of history for years and years to come...

Thursday, September 12, 2013

...a small group of pilgrims on a Catholic History Walk. I hurried to Westminster Cathedral, heavy suitcase already packed for Poland. Rushed to the bookshop next to the Cathedral - but it was already shut with a notice on the door :"CLOSED". I clasped my hands and made pleading signs with the girl at the till counting up the money. She smiled and opened the door and I explained...just one copy of my book on Bl JP II...off to Gatwick that very evening to fly to Poland...wanted so badly to give a copy to Cardinal Dziwicz...and the manager heard me and took mercy, taking one from the shelf for me and it will go on my account..."sort it out later, Joanna"... Into the Cathedral. Mass in progress. An African priest among those concelebrating: Fr J, who has been working at this parish in the suburbs and had expressed interest in walking along the paths of England's Catholic history before returning to Uganda at the end of this week...

As we stood in the wet piazza beneath Fr J's umbrella with me explaining the history of the Cathedral, and beginning on the saga of the English Church (St Augustine...Saxons, Normans and on to Henry VIII and all that) Canon Christopher came out from the Cathedral to greet us and in next to no time he and Fr J were chatting in some African language (Fr C.is former Army)...and a whole lot of history came together, England and armies and Commonwealth and more...

Later, the Walk under way, into the Great Hall at Westminster, and we stood at the plaque marking the trial in that place of St Thomas More, and thought too of St Edmund Campion and the others...and of centuries rolling on and Pope Benedict in 2010 speaking there to a massed gathering of men and women in our national life. Faith and reason, the former illuminating the latter, a message of hope and a promise for a future way...

"But it looks so like a church!" so many people say when they get into the Central Lobby of Parliament. Of course it does: Barry and Pugin and gothic revival, the four saints of the British isles in glittering mosaic...and it all goes back to the Abbey just opposite, and the Faith that shaped this land and you can't understand our history without grasping that...

As we made our farewells at Westminster Tube station, Fr J. prayed and blessed me, invoking God's protection and that of the angels and saints. It felt so right standing there, unembarrassed, receiving a blessing on a London pavement.

And then Victoria station, and the night train to Gatwick, and meeting Clare, my co-worker on the Poland project. The next morning an early start for the flight to Krakow. And there, this afternoon, I gave the book to Cardinal Stanislaus Dziwicz as we sat talking about Blessed John Paul...but that's another story, and one that I'll write up tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

...to work on a TV programme about soon-to-be-canonised Bl John Paul. Trawling the Internet, I came across a piece I wrote about him a couple of years ago and I still stand by every word of it. But I have come to appreciate more deeply the significance of his life and work. I am indebted to various Lefebvre-leaning blogs and blurbs, all very anti-John Paul and some viciously so, for helping me to see him as the truly man and saint that he was. His Marian theology and his Eucharistic devotion are of great importance, although history will probably chiefly note his Theology of the Body and of course his world travels, missionary zeal, and central role in the collapse of atheistic communism. The Church of the next centuries will be studying his writings and following his spiritual path with zeal.

We will be in Krakow and Wadowice, and hope also to visit Kalwaria, Nowa Huta, and the Divine Mercy Shrine. Some of these are already very familiar to me. I am very much looking forward to the work on the programme.

Spent today having Tea with a beloved elderly relative on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Mildly frustrating morning because the vacuum cleaner broke. It made weird loud whirring noises and smelt horrible. I unplugged, dismantled, cleaned...to no avail. Kaput. Bought a new one this afternoon from the local supermarket. We've got used to mass-production and inbuilt obsolescence and all that, but even so the price seemed odd: £18. It seems all wrong for any electrical equipment to be that cheap: am checking to see where such things are made...sounds like horribly low wages to get something produced for that price.

Yesterday: a meeting of LOGS, the thriving and enjoyable Ordinariate group for women. We have a good many projects on hand for the coming weeks and months, including carol-singing at a major London railway station, and a big project for London schoolchildren...

Sunday, September 08, 2013

...that there is a CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK on Wednesday (Sept 11th) starting at 6.30pm - after the 5.30pm Mass - at Westminster Cathedral. Meet on the steps. All welcome. Wear suitable shoes and clothing - we'll be walking whatever the weather.

NOTE these dates, too:

SAT Oct 12th, 1pm BLESSED SACRAMENT PROCESSION, starting at Westminster Cathedral, and finishing at St George's Cathedral, Southwark. Come and give witness to the Faith, and pray for our city and our country at this time...

Sunday Oct 27th - a special History Walk starting with Mass at 11 am at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. This is a Reunion Walk for all the pilgrims who walked to Walsingham this summer with the John Paul Pilgrimage for the New Evangelisation. But anyone and everyone is invited, too. Just turn up at Precious Blood Church, with sandwiches and some good walking-shoes: the walk will be approx. five miles.

...packing up prizes and arranging prize-presentations for young people in a big schools Religious Education project. Satisfying work. We got extremely warm hurrying to the Post Office with great cases of heavy parcels on the final hot days of the summer...but it was all well worth it.

The Project would not have been possible without the generous support of the wonderful parish of St Joseph's, New Malden: we had the use of a large room in the parish centre, plus storage space for weeks beforehand for the various books and the children's work, plus access to the big and well-equipped kitchen so we could enjoy lunch and coffee...each day we could join the well-attended 10am Mass, and later,and while we worked upstairs, happy sounds from a children's playgroup came from the main hall...on Thursday there was Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament all day, people quietly coming in to pray...

Like so many millions of people worldwide, I've been praying this week for peace in Syria...

Thursday, September 05, 2013

...we gathered to mark the Silver Jubilee of Fr Alexander Sherbrook, at St Patrick's Church, Soho Square. The church was so packed that some of us were ushered up to the front to sit in the side-chapel behind the choir. Glorious music. A vast number of priests concelebrating the Mass: it was moving and beautiful. Among those present: Canon Christopher Tuckwell from Westminster Cathedral, Mgr Keith Newton, Fr Hugh Mackenzie, Fr Stephen Langridge... Afterwards, a great gathering with delicious food, the cutting of a ceremonial cake, lots and lots of talk and greetings and friendship... Perhaps the most powerful part of the evening occurred when, after a sudden call for silence, the priests in the room began to sing "ad multos annos...", traditionally sung by students of the English College in Rome when they gather...

On such an evening, in such company, a sense of the quiet resilience and strong faith of the Catholic Church in England.